The surfaces of golf courses and other outdoor playing fields require regular maintenance in order to maintain the desired smoothness. For example, the fairways and tees of a golf course must not only be mowed regularly, but the grass and turf must also be treated periodically to maintain healthy growth. Such maintenance usually involves first aerating the turf, spreading suitable top dressing and other turf building materials over the aerated turf, and then working the materials into the turf. Aeration is usually done with spike or plug-type machine which leave a fairly eved distribution of holes. However, the top dressing material is usually spread by hand or with some form of broadcast spreader, neither of which results in very even distribution. The best effect is not achieved unless these materials are spread evenly over the turf and then worked down into its surface and the aeration holes before watering. Because of its manually intensive nature, the spreading step has often been skipped or overlooked.
Various brush attachments have been available heretofore. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,174 to Hightower shows a grooming attachment for reconditioning the playing surface of a tennis court, which attachment utilizes a plurality of brushes arranged end-to-end transverse to the direction of travel. The brushes in the road cleaner and smoother shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,033,551 to Davis are arranged side-by-side, but at an angle to the direction of travel. U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,946 to Neff shows a drag broom apparatus incorporating a leading transverse brush, an intermediate pair of brushes arranged in a v-shaped configuration, and a trailing transverse brush.
However, while a variety of brush attachments have been available heretofore, they have not been altogether satisfactory for spreading granular materials evenly over surfaces whose contours may not always be flat. For example, the brushes of the prior art generally tend to push the material forward with little or no lateral motion, which in turn can leave ridges. In addition, the brush attachments of the prior art tend to hop, which further affects the desired smoothing and leveling action. The brush attachments of the prior art have also tended to be of rigid construction with little or no flexibility to follow the surface contours. Heretofore, there has not been provided a brush attachment which is better adapted to follow the underlying surface while accomplishing better smoothing and leveling action.